A chequered history to say the least.
The Republic of Ireland will face off against Northern Ireland tonight at the Aviva Stadium.
It is the first time that the two teams will face off against each other since the Republic defeated NI 5-0 all the way back in 2011.
This was a civil affair, as many expect tonight’s game to be, but this wasn’t the case in the many encounters before that.
This excellent video produced by Tifo Football recalls the World Cup qualifier that took place in Windsor Park in 1993.
The video explains how the Irish National Anthem wasn’t played before the game, nor was the Irish flag flown at any point.
There was a serious discussion that proposed that the game should be played in London or Rome for safety reasons, but the ideas were dismissed.
Ireland needed a point from the game to ensure qualification, which they got, but the game was a fiery encounter.
Have a look at the video in full here:
Clip via Tifo Football
Here’s hoping that tonight’s game is an exciting game of football that does a good job in representing the progress that has been made off the pitch by the two countries since these incidents.
